What inspired me to write Into These Hands, Wisdom from Midwives?
On New Year’s Day of 2007 I woke up with the inspiration for the Into These Hands, Wisdom from Midwives anthology. Someone whispered in my ear that it was time to write this book (No, it was not my husband Fred!) … I made lists of eligible midwives from across the country whose life stories I would like to collect. There were more than 100! I sent out invitations to a few dozen people and began the meticulous work of collecting, organizing and editing the narratives written by each midwife/author. The skills I had honed in my consulting business—qualitative research, interviewing, report and grant writing, authorship and oral presentations, curriculum development—all served me well!
How did I maintain my dedication to creating (birthing?) this anthology?
After inspiration struck, I then gently but firmly shepherded each author into telling her life story and crafting and re-crafting each memoir to be accessible and interesting to a mainstream readership. One of the best decisions of my life was when I hired a professional editor (Max Regan, www.hollowdeckpress.com) to assist me in the process of refining and editing the anthology. After four years of concentrated effort, it all came together in an elegant and cohesive package that was published by Spirituality & Health. In addition to managing the entire project from conception to fruition, I wrote several sections for the anthology included the Opening, Introduction, my own memoir, the Afterword, and Resources.
Wisdom from Midwives 